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The Role of Constituency Offices in Enhancing Democracy and Communication Between Members of Parliament and Their Electorates: the Case of Kabwata Constituency

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The Role of Constituency Offices in Enhancing Democracy and Communication Between Members of Parliament and Their Electorates: the Case of Kabwata Constituency THE ROLE OF CONSTITUENCY OFFICES IN ENHANCING DEMOCRACY AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT AND THEIR ELECTORATES: THE CASE OF KABWATA CONSTITUENCY BY KASHIMBI LIMATA A report submitted to the University of Zambia in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Communication for Development THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA LUSAKA ©2015 i Declaration I make the declaration that this report has not been submitted for a degree at the University of Zambia or any other university before. Name……………………………………………………. Signature……………………………………………….. Date……………………………………………………… ii Certificate of Approval Supervisor……………………………………………….. Signature………………………………………………… Date………………………………………………………. iii Acknowledgements I wish to thank my supervisor, Mr. F Muzyamba for his guidance during the formulation of the research proposal and the subsequent preparation of the report. The valuable amount of time spent in guiding me will never be replaced but the knowledge gained will certainly go a long way in my humble serve to this great nation. Acknowledgements also go the course coordinator Mr. Mukungu and other members of staff in the department of Mass Communication who imparted knowledge to me during the course of study. These include Dr. M Bwalya and Dr. S Phiri. My gratitude also goes to Hon. Given Lubinda, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock and Member of Parliament for Kabwata Constituency for allowing me to be attached at the Constituency Office in order to have first-hand experience on the operations of the Constituency Office. My thanks also go to Mrs. Rachel Mwanagombe, the Professional Assistant and Mr. Friday Shanzala, the Administrative Assistant at Kabwata Constituency Office for providing me with the necessary information I needed during my research. I also wish to thank all the respondents who took time off their busy schedule to complete the questionnaires which provided me with vital information for my study. Finally I wish to thank my sisters Sepiso, Monde, Gloria, Penelope and Mulela, my brothers Jack, Steve, Michael and Silula for their support and my employers the National Assembly of Zambia for granting me the study leave in which I undertook my study. To them and all those that I have mentioned above I can only wish them well and God’s rich blessings. iv Dedication I dedicate this degree to the two dearest people in my life. These are my parents Mr. Martin Fundweta Limata and Mrs. Alexina Malungwe Limata. May God continue to watch over them. v Abstract This study sought to examine the role of Kabwata Constituency Office in enhancing democracy and communication between the Member of Parliament and the constituents in Kabwata, Lusaka. The constituency offices were established as part of the parliamentary reforms which the National Assembly embarked on with the re- introduction of Multi-party democracy in 1991. The offices aim at improving the constituent-Member relations and also to enhance the representative functions of Members of Parliament. The study was done using in depth interviews with two key stakeholders and a quantitative survey method of 100 constituents selected using clustered methodology. The results from the study revealed that majority of the people knew of the existence of the office. However, despite this only very few had visited the constituency office. The study further revealed that this could be attributed to the lack of adequate sensitisation programmes on the existence and purpose of the office. The study revealed that more still needs to be done if the offices are to fully serve their intended purpose. The study further revealed that there was need to engage the people so that they fully understand their role in the operations of the constituency office. Enhanced sensitisation campaigns therefore, need to be undertaken. This also calls for enough resources to be allocated to the constituency offices in order for them to be able to carry out sensitisation campaigns. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Item Page Declaration ii Certificate of Approval iii Acknowledgments iv Dedication v Abstract vi Table of Contents vii List of Tables xi List of Figures xiii List of Abbreviations xiv CHAPTER ONE-INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 General Overview of Zambia 4 1.2 Population 4 1.3 Languages 5 1.4 Administration 6 1.5 Religion 6 1.6 Political Background 6 1.7 Economy 7 1.8 Poverty 7 vii 1.9 Overview of the Zambian Parliament 8 1.9.1 Location 8 1.9.2 Historical Development of the Zambian Parliament 9 1.10 Overview of Kabwata Constituency 11 1.10.1 Location 11 1.10.2 Population 11 1.11 Functions of Parliamentary Constituency Offices 12 1.12 Benefits of Parliamentary Constituency Offices 13 1.13 The role of the citizenry in the operations of the Constituency Offices 15 1.14 Problem Statement 15 1.15 Rationale for the study 15 1.16 Objectives 1.16.1 General Objective 17 1.16.2 Specific Objectives 17 1.17 Research Questions 17 1.18 Hypothesis 18 1.19 Scope of the study 18 1.20 Ethical Considerations 18 1.21 Limitations of the study 18 CHAPTER TWO- LITERATURE REVIEW Study by Caritus Zambia on the pilot project of Constituency Offices 20 viii Study by Caritus Zambia on the extent to which Constituency Offices were answering to the connectivity needed between the electorate and parliament and the MPs on the other hand 21 Strengthening parliamentary democracy in SADC Countries, 2005 Zambia Country Report 22 The Low Road to Democratic Reform: Constituency Offices, Public Service Provision and Citizen Engagement 23 CHAPTER THREE-CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 3.0 Introduction 26 3.1 Conceptual definitions 26 3.1.1 Democracy 26 3.1.2 Communication 28 3.1.3 Participatory Development 28 3.2 Main Theory 3.2.1 Participatory Communication Theory 29 3.3 Other theories supporting the main theory 3.3.1 Participatory Communication Appraisal 30 3.3.2 Uses and Gratification Theory 31 CHAPTER FOUR- METHODOLOGY 4.0 Introduction 33 ix 4.1 Research Methods 33 4.1.1 Quantitative Survey 33 4.1.2 In Depth Interview 34 4.1.3 Document Review of the visitor’s register 34 4.2 Population 34 4.3 Sample Size 35 4.4 Sampling Procedure 35 4.5 Method of data gathering 35 4.6 Data analysis 35 CHAPTER FIVE: RESEARCH FINDINGS 5.0 Introduction 37 5.1 Quantitative Survey 37 5.2 Qualitative Survey 51 5.2.1 In depth interviews 51 5.2.2 Statistical Review of the visitor’s register 54 CHAPTER SIX: DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 6.0 Introduction 56 6.1 Awareness of the constituents on the existence and purpose of the Constituency Office 56 6.2 Levels of utilisation and effectiveness of the office in responding x to the needs of the constituents 58 6.3 Extent to which people of different sex are aware of the existence of the Constituency Office 60 6.4 Interaction of the MP and the constituents before and after the introduction of the Constituency Offices 61 6.5 Extent to which the Constituency Office remain politically neutral 63 6.6 Nature of the channels and messages used by the MP to communicate with the constituents 63 CHAPTER SEVEN: RECOMMENDATIONS, FUTURE RESEARCH AND CONCLUSION 7.0 Introduction 66 7.1 Recommendations 66 7.2 Future Research 67 7.3 Conclusion 68 BIBLIOGRAPHY 69 APPENDICES 73 xi List of Tables Page Population of Kabwata Constituency according to the 2010 Census 11 Distribution of questionnaires 33 Do you know your Member of Parliament 35 Do you know the role of a Member of Parliament 36 Do you know of the Constituency Office 36 What do you think is the purpose of the Constituency Office 37 How is notification on the activities and operations of the Constituency Office done 38 How would you prefer notifications on the operations of the operations of the Constituency Office done 39 Has the office been an access point for communication about problems of the community 40 Has the office been an access point for learning from the Member of Parliament and the office about new ideas, programmes and new ways of doing things 40 Does the Member of Parliament give answers to questions through the office 40 Have you ever visited the Constituency Office 41 If your answer to question 22 is No, why 42 What was the nature of your visit 43 Who did you meet at the Constituency Office 43 xii To what extent were you satisfied with the Constituency Office in meeting your expectation when you visited 44 To what extent has the Constituency Office enhanced communication between the constituents and the MP 45 To what extent was the communication between the MP and the constituents before the opening of the Constituency Office 45 Do you know your MP 46 Do you know of the Constituency Office 47 Have you ever visited the Constituency Office 48 If your answer to question 22 is No, why 57 To what extent has the Constituency Office enhanced Communication between the constituents and the MP 59 To what extent was the communication between the MP and the constituents before the opening of the constituency office 59 xiii List of Figures Page Map of Zambia 5 Parliament Buildings 8 Map of Lusaka District 14 xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ANC African National Congress ARC African Representative Council BSAC British South African Company CCJDP Catholic Centre for Justice, Development and Peace CSO Central Statistical Office ECZ Electoral Commission of Zambia GDP Gross Domestic Product IMF International Monetary Fund IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union LCMS Living Conditions Monitory Survey MMD Movement for Multi-party Democracy MP Member of Parliament NPP National Progressive Party PRMC Parliamentary Reform and Modernisation Committee PRP Parliamentary Reform Programme PF Patriotic Front SADC Southern African Development Community SPSS Statistical Package for Social Science UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNIP United National Independence Party xv .
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